Thursday, April 20, 2006

Ape Loving Thing

Most of you are aware that Thing One has his own set of challenges. Lots of women out there devote their entire blogs to their children's issues. That's not why I blog, but every so often I need to release certain feelings that I have with regards to his challenges. If you hadn't noticed yet, I'm definetly a "glass half full" kind of girl. And so ranting or lamenting on the challenges of raising a child with autism just really wouldn't be my style.

But, Spring is in the air, and he's got a bad case of Spring Fever. Today his teacher met me outside after school for one of THOSE chats. It has been so long since I've had such an encounter, I'd forgotten how protective I can get when it comes to my kids. Yes, I want both boys to be responsible and accountable for their actions. But, sometimes the expectations that they have for him, fail to take into consideration his quirks and it is those quirks that led to the diagnosis of autism.

While I"m huffing and puffing, trying to figure out how I want to tackle this newest bump in the roller coaster, he's happily doing the last piece of his homework. He's supposed to write three sentences in cursive. Problem is, he doesn't know all the letters yet. So, he goes with what he does know and comes up with this sentiment:

The Ape ate Table Two.
Thing One laughed.
Thing One loves apes.
Now, of course he used his own name. But you know what: in reading that, I am reminded again: I love those Things (and that hubby of mine!) more than anything out there! And, it is my job as his mom, to help him navigate his way through this process called school, while taking time along the way to educate a few educators about quirky kids!


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